TrendAI™ Research tracked a sustained malvertising campaign that abused Google Ads to deliver ClickFix social engineering attacks disguised as popular AI developer tools. The campaign impersonated at least six legitimate brand names, including ChatGPT Codex, Perplexity, Cursor IDE, JetBrains, Claude AI, and claude.ai, and simultaneously ran Mac utility scam lures.
By leveraging paid search ads targeting users actively seeking AI development tools, the attackers were able to target technically proficient users who are more likely to interact with command-line instructions without suspicion. This marks a sophisticated evolution of the ClickFix social engineering technique, where victims are tricked into manually executing malicious commands, typically by copying and pasting PowerShell or terminal commands under the guise of “fixing” a problem or completing a software installation.
Read more…
Source: Trend Micro
Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Some London commuters may never be refunded after TfL cyber attack
November 30, 2024
Sadiq Khan has admitted victims of a Transport for London (TfL) cyber attack may never get their money back. Tens of thousands of Londoners are feared to have been left out of pocket after hackers gained access to the travel authority’s systems in September. The aftermath of the hack meant over-60s, children and students were unable to ...
- Pakistan: Severe Cyber Attack at Dewan Farooque Motors Corrupts Data and Crashes Servers
November 30, 2024
A cyber-attack crippled Dewan Farooque Motors Limited (DFML), corrupting key corporate data and crashing servers. The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) received notice of the incident on Friday. DFML told stakeholders that restoring its information systems and financial data, including information from the first quarter ending September 30, 2024, will be a lengthy process. Read more… Source: ProPakistan News Sign ...
- Australia’s social media ban for children makes global headlines as some news outlets ask if their country could be next
November 29, 2024
Australia’s social media ban for children has made headlines around the world, as articles questioned how it could work and whether similar laws would be introduced elsewhere. The legislation passed through the Senate on Thursday, and while it still faces one final vote in the lower house to approve amendments, that will be a formality. The ...
- Medical testing company LifeLabs failed to protect customer data, report finds
November 27, 2024
In 2019, a ransomware attack hit LifeLabs, a Canadian medical testing company. The ransomware encrypted the lab results of 15 million Canadians, and personally identifiable information (PII) of 8.6 million people was stolen. After noticing the attack, LifeLabs informed its customers and the Canadian privacy regulators, which immediately announced an investigation. The privacy commissioners of both ...
- INTERPOL financial crime operation makes record 5,500 arrests, seizures worth over USD 400 million
November 27, 2024
LYON, France – A global operation involving law enforcement from 40 countries, territories and regions has ended with the arrest of over 5,500 financial crime suspects and the seizure of more than USD 400 million in virtual assets and government-backed currencies. The five-month Operation HAECHI V (July – November 2024) targeted seven types of cyber-enabled frauds: ...
- TaxOff: um, you’ve got a backdoor…
November 27, 2024
In Q3 2024, the Positive Technologies Expert Security Center (PT ESC) TI Department discovered a series of attacks on Russian government agencies. PT ESC researchers were unable to establish any connection with known groups using the same techniques. The main goal was espionage and gaining a foothold to follow through on further attacks. They dubbed the group ...